Christmas Oneshots
by GuardPuppy
Summary: A collection of one-shots about the Chase and Christmas. One story a day. (Due to the time difference the stories are submitted at 12AM CET)
1. December 1st

**Christmas one-shots**

**My Stories belong to me! Do NOT Copy them!**

**Be warned that most of the stories contain boy's love and cheesy cliché plots. **

**Disclaimer: ** All characters used in here belong to KoG. I just play around with them.

Christmas. A day Dio cared about as much as he cared about the broken snow globe earlier. Not at all. He didn't understand why they all made a fuss about it, and he didn't get why it was so special. Something about a king being born. Had Elyos made it an official holyday when he was born? No. They should have, now that he thought about it.

Dio never liked Christmas, and the other demons didn't seem to be very interested in it anyway. Except Rufus. But that guy wasn't normal anyway.

Dio sighed and looked at the list in his hands. All the stuff he had broken earlier. Knight Master even made him write down the list she had made. He turned the paper and squinted, trying to read his awful handwriting. If he came back without everything on the list Knight Master would make him the experiment for Arme for the rest of the year. He made a mental note to improve his handwriting if he'd ever managed to return to the castle before it was midnight.

It was quite cold, the trees without leafs, and everyone seemed to be in a hurry. Dio actually decided to wear a coat. Elyos was a lot warmer than winter in Aernas. Again he stared down at the paper, decided to buy what he could read, and then head back. At least Knight Master didn't make him use his own money. He would have expected her to do that.

As he entered the first shop a bell above the door rang, and the smell of cookies surrounded him. He tried his best to ignore the disgusting smell and looked around the shop.

"Christmas Gl... ball?" Dio muttered to himself. He wasn't a bad reader, but those words where unfamiliar and he had no idea what those items where. On top of that, everything looked the same to him.

A woman that seemed quite old suddenly appeared next to him. She smiled at the tall demon that just looked at her with a dumbfounded expression. It was rare for people to smile at him. Actually it had never happened before. They either ran away or got scared. Or they tried to kill him. To think he actually helped saving that stupid race… it was ridiculous.

"Do you need help young man?"

Young man. The only one addressing him as _Young_ was Alfred. Not sure what to say he simply held the list in front of the woman.

"My, my… what an awful handwriting…" she scolded as she repositioned her glasses and tried to read the words. Dio turned his head away and tried to remain calm. It wouldn't look good if he smashed something. And the lady was only trying to help him. Zero was spoiling him way too much.

"Let me get you a carton. You wouldn't be able to carry everything, would you?" The old Lady asked.

"I guess…" Dio muttered. He was still surprised that a human was actually nice to him. And her smile was no fake one. It was warm and comforting. A bit like Zero's rare smiles. Dio shook his head and followed the woman. What the hell was he thinking?

"Here you go." She smiled at him as she handed him a carton. He took it with his normal hand, not sure if the material would withstand his claws.

"I'll get the items for you, is that okay?" The woman asked.

"S-sure…" Dio didn't know what to think, or what to say. He knew how to react to mean people, but how was he supposed to react to nice people? He watched the woman as she carefully placed various items in the carton. He thought about Zero who was on a mission right now. Dio hated when they weren't on missions together. There were too many things that could have happened to Zero. He really didn't want to think about it.

A hand on his Arm made him look at the woman again.

"All done. Mind telling me what worries you so much?"

Dio blinked and followed the woman to a counter. "I'm just afraid that he wouldn't come back…" he muttered, tried to find somewhere to look at. Since when was he so shy?! This must have been because the woman was nice. Or he was getting insane. While he looked away he noticed book in a red cover. Dio frowned, and wanted to put it away again, but Zero liked books, didn't he? For a moment Dio thought about it, then put it away. This was way too cheesy.

"I've seen a few demons, but never one that was in love." The women smiled and handed Dio his change.

"He's too nice… I always do things he doesn't like, but he just takes it…"

"He must love you dearly."

Dio tilted his head in confusion. Zero had never told him those three words. Was it true? Sighing Dio grabbed the book and paid for it, then he hurried out of the shop. He only took two steps before he collided with something. The carton almost fell down, and he didn't want to go through all this again, so he yelled at whoever ran into him.

When no one answered Dio looked down. Zero was sitting there, rubbing his head as he had hit it at a lamppost.

"Ah shit… What are you doing here? I thought you wouldn't come back until tomorrow…." Dio muttered as he crouched down and put the carton next to him. Zero seemed to be alright though. The Seeker would never abandon a mission. Not without a good reason. Well for Dio anything was a good reason, but Knight Master wouldn't see it that way.

"The mission is done. There was no point in staying any longer."

Dio sighed, forgetting that he had thought anything romantic. He pulled Zero back to his feet and quickly kissed him. Dio knew Zero didn't like to be kissed in public. Not even holding hands was allowed. But Zero wouldn't always remind him.

"Let's get back then… what were you doing here?"

"Knight Master stated she sent you on an errand."

"She forced me! Just for breaking that stupid stuff! It wasn't even on purpose…"

Zero nodded and noticed the book on all the other stuff.

"I do not remember a book on the list."

"Because it's not for them." Dio muttered, picked up the carton and walked back towards the castle.


	2. December 2nd

**My Stories belong to me! Do NOT Copy them!**

**Disclaimer: **All characters used in here belong to KoG. I just play around with them.

After the fuss Dio had made the day before, this day could be considered as quiet. It was early in the morning, only two persons awake yet. One of them was dressed in a nightgown, light colored hair neatly tied in a bun. Her sparkling blue eyes reflected the light of the candle as she was rushing with bare feet over the cold stone floor in the corridor of the first story. If she was fast enough she might've been able to-

Suddenly someone grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth so she wouldn't scream. The candle fell down and now the only light in the corridor was from the full moon above their heads that was shining through the windows. She felt a gun pressed at her head.

A frightened squeak escaped her, then she felt a warm body behind her.

"Who are you?" a low male voice growled. The hand on her mouth was slowly removed and Rufus stumbled backwards as the girl suddenly showed him away.

"I should be asking who you are you pervert!" the girl screamed.

The demon sighed, picked p the candle and lit it again. The flame was now blue, diving the corridor in a cold and frightening color. Once he could see her properly he put his guns away.

"Knight, What the hell are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

"I got hungry! What are you doing here Mister Bounty Hunter?" She spat back at him. No one was doing this to her and got away with it. No one! What was that demon thinking anyway? He acted like some kind of watchdog! Even worse than that white haired guy! Ever since she joined the Chase she was surrounded by a bunch of weirdoes.

"You know where the kitchen is?" It sounded like he didn't believe she would know.

"No, but I would find it. Or I can make you find it for me." She grabbed his shirt and found a gun pointed at her.

"Let go."

"You don't think you could-" A shot missed her by a hair.

"I will not warn you again. Let go."

She let go with shaking hands. What was this?

"H-how did you get in here. You're insane!" the girl yelled.

"I thought you read the profiles." The demon glared at her, red eyes looking deeply into blue ones. She was pretty. Still a lot worse than the Starlet. Way too cheerful, annoying, loud, and dense.

"I did, Mister Wilde. You are Lass' half brother, distrustful and don't like people close to you. Do I care? No. You can't just point your weapon at your comrades!" the girl shouted. Glaring at him and suddenly gave the impression of being capable of taking Rufus down, even without a weapon and with being about a head smaller than the demon.

"I do what I want. Don't bother me and I don't bother you." Rufus hissed, sheathing his gun.

"I was just walking here!"

"At night you are supposed to sleep!"

"It's not my fault for getting hungry!"

"Then eat enough!"

"You don't get it!"

A Kunai thrown in the wall, missing both of them by a hair silenced them immediately.

"You'll wake the whole town if you keep shouting like that!" Lass hissed, glaring at his brother, then at the girl.

"Rufus I can't believe you're bothering the new girl." The Striker scolded, then walked up to the girl. The light of Lass' candle finally changed the blue and creepy atmosphere to something bearable.

"Let me show you the kitchen. That guy's… he just doesn't like new people. Even with Christmas coming up. Sometimes I really don't get him."

Rufus stood there, watching both of them walk away and suddenly felt something close to jealousy.

"Lime!" He shouted.

The girl turned around, looked at the demon with a questioning look.

"I'm sorry."

Lass frowned, then started to laugh as Rufus face got slightly red. The assassin then Shook his head and approached his brother.

"Go for it." He whispered as he passed the smaller demon.

For a moment Rufus just stood there, string at the girl in the white nightgown. The was damn pretty.


	3. December 3rd

**My Stories belong to me! Do NOT Copy them!**

**Disclaimer: **All characters used in here belong to KoG. I just play around with them.

It had started to snow when Lass and Lire went outside to get some items Arme asked for. The mage was busy and the Elf didn't want to go alone. Lass wasn't exactly the best company, but at least he didn't ask questions.

The blonde elf sighed and curled up more in her coat. She never liked days like this. Although it was already dark. Torches where set along the path they walked.

"Don't tell me you like this crap…" Lass muttered when he noticed her staring at a colorful decorated window.

Lire turned away from his sight and shook her head.

"N-No. We don't celebrate things like this in my hometown." That was true, but she liked the time before Christmas anyway. And even in her home town they had a day similar to Christmas. Meeting with loved ones and sharing presents.

"Good. Rufus bothers the hell out of me with it… it's like he turned into a little child!" Lass complained, kicking snow away A stone hit the wall of a house and a woman with a long coat jumped away. Lass couldn't see her face and he didn't care. All those villagers were annoying him anyway.

"I believe Rufus is happy about the fact that he wouldn't have to be alone this year."

"He was here last year as well!"

"Back then he didn't know us that well. He still doesn't trust us."

Lass sighed and turned away. What use was it to talk to Lire about this? She wouldn't get it anyway! He walked a bit faster than the elf and entered the shop before her. And old woman greeted him. He just nodded and looked around. The elf appeared beside him and started to take some items in a small basket.

"I can't believe Arme couldn't go here herself. What's the point in sending us?" Lire started to complain as she looked around.

Lass just sighed. He had been here quite a lot, and knew the shop very well.

"She said she's busy. It's the best not to bother her then."

"She's always busy. " Lire muttered and went to pay for the items she picked. Stuff for new potions.

"You know what?" Lire asked as They stepped out of the shop. "The next time she does that I find someone else to do it."

"Do what you want." Lass muttered. He still wondered why he went along.

"Do you still like her?"

The question made Lass bite his lip. It was a quite complicated set up. All of sudden Arme fell for Ronan and completely ignored Lass.

"I do… But… There's not much I can do. I won't fight my best friend to get a girl back and in the end lose both of them. No thanks. I'm not stupid."

Lire silently nodded and watched a young couple standing in the snow. They where kissing and hugging. And suddenly she felt jealous too.

"I don't know what happened recently but… there are a lot changes going on considering our relationships… don't you think?"

Lass thought about it as he walked towards the castle.

"You're right… I think this year it will be a bit different then the others…"


	4. December 4th

**My Stories belong to me! Do NOT Copy them!**

**Disclaimer: **All characters used in here belong to KoG. I just play around with them.

Over night everything turned white, covering the town in a thick layer of snow. Dio had quite a few bad experiences with snow already and he didn't want to add more to them. Still, Knightmaster decided to bother him again by sending him on a mission. A mission with Sieghart. He knew this wouldn't go well. Sieghart knew it, Zero knew it. And Knightmaster knew it too. However, there was no way to argue. Knightmaster found it a nice idea to bother Dio with the Idea of testing Arme's potions whenever she could. Because she knew that it worked. Zero seemed quite sad when Dio left in the morning. Not the kind of sadness that anyone other than Dio would have noticed. But it bothered the Leviathan.

"Move your sorry ass!" Sieghart yelled. He was quite far ahead already. Dio was freezing already. The castle was still there and he was freezing. Awesome.

"Shut up!" Dio yelled. Snow from a tree fell down on Sieghart a second later, causing Dio to laugh at him. A snowball in his face made him shut up.

"I can play this game too. Now move we have this mission to finish."

Dio lifted an eyebrow. When did Sieghart start to care about missions? It took him a while to figure out that the Highlander wanted to be back as soon as possible as well.

"Did you even listen what Lothos said?" Sieghart asked as Dio was walking next to him again. The demon shrugged. Not caring at all.

"If we finish this in time we get some days off." The highlander muttered barely loud enough for Dio to hear. Suddenly the demon's eyes lit up.

"Are you serious?!"

Sieghart rolled his eyes of this enthusiasm and nodded. It wasn't a hard mission anyway. But there has to be some kind of trap if Knightmaster was about to let them have some time off. And there was.

Not long after they reached the village Dio caught an arrow with his rake hand.

"I guess they don't want us here."

"They hate everyone passing this village." Sieghart said and walked through the path. The snow made strange sounds as he walked over it. Cracking noises. But Dio didn't really are as an arrow impaled his right shoulder.

"Hey! Old man! I'm not immortal!" Dio shouted. The moment Sieghart turned he saw him grin, then the ground suddenly gave in and Dio felt like he fell into a pit of liquid fire. He felt like all air was stolen from his lungs. It was impossible to breath.

A hand caught magenta colored hair and pulled the demon back to the surface. Dio blinked, for a moment unable to breath, then he coughed. His whole body was shivering and he stared in disbelief as the saw who saved him.

"W-what the h-hell… " Dio noticed his body was shaking too much to properly voice anything.

"I still need you for this mission, after that you can drown wherever you want."

Dio glared at the immortal. What would he give to have Zero with him now… Zero would have embraced him, trying to warm him up. Making sure he was alright. Dio hated snow, disliked water and both together was the worst combination ever. The air was too cold to use his wings, and his legs were starting to freeze as he slowly stood. No. Not only his legs. His arms, his head… his whole body. Oh.. and the arrow in his shoulder.

"Move!" Sieghart yelled, already rushing away.

Dio crossed his arms in a failing attempt to warm himself. He wanted to go home. Or at least having Zero next to him.

"I'm going home!" Dio yelled, turning around.

"No time off for you then." He heard Sieghart yell.

The immortal could handle a few upset orcs pretty well alone. And even if not, he still wouldn't die from their attacks. Knightmaster would make him Arme's experiment. But right now he didn't care at all.


	5. December 5th

**My Stories belong to me! Do NOT Copy them!**

**Disclaimer: **All characters used in here belong to KoG. I just play around with them.

"Ha! You lost again!" Arme's cheerful voice echoed in the living room. She had been playing cards with Lass, Ronan, Rufus and Lime and was laughing at the assassin that lost the game for the third time in a row. By now Ronan found that suspicious and turned to the younger one.

"What's up with you today?" He asked as casual as he could. The current Situation wasn't exactly perfect. He knew Arme suddenly loved him, but Ronan made no move to leave Elesis.

"You know exactly what's up!" Lass hissed and tossed his cards on the table.

"I do know. I still don't get why you're so upset about it."

"Oh I might help you then." Lass hissed, took his glass from the table and emptied the water directly into Ronan's face before storming out of the room. Rufus made an attempt to follow him, but Ronan shook his head.

"Let him cool down." The blue haired knight said turned his head towards Arme who was sitting there with a slight annoyed expression.

"You should consider his feelings, and mine as well Arme. I like you as a friend, he loves you. I change my clothing." With that Ronan stood, leaving in a different direction than Lass had left.

Rufus looked at the two girls that could have been clones of each other. Not for the looks, but their personality was almost the same. And now he was in a room with both of them, not knowing what to do. One of them was in love with his brother; the other was busy with things he didn't care about. The demon put his cards on the table and sighed deeply.

"I… go apologize to Lass…" Arme muttered and stood. Rufus grabbed her sleeve.

"Do you want to apologize to have a good conscience, or do you mean it?"

Arme bit her lip. She knew Rufus hated it like nothing else when someone broke his trust. And she knew that he protected his brother whenever he needed it. Of course he would never admit it though.

"You shouldn't apologize if you don't mean it Arme… He'll only get hurt more…" Lime muttered then. The mage sighed and Rufus let go of her sleeve, knowing he had won. Arme left the room but seemed to follow Ronan.

For a moment the room was filled with an awkward silence.

"You know, we should take our shoes outside tonight…" Lime muttered.

Rufus lifted an eyebrow and thought she had gone crazy. He liked his shoes. There was no way he'd put them outside.

"Just in front of your room's door. …It's said if you do that, you get presents from St. Nikolas."

Rufus blinked, still not getting what she was trying to say.

"You really don't know much, huh?"

"I've only been here for about a year. I've always been alone before… what am I supposed to know about all this…"

Lime nodded. She knew it from the text she read about him when she joined the chase and got a stack of paper to know the basics about everyone. There were some with less information, but Rufus seemed interesting to her from the beginning.

"You have to clean your shoes and then take them out. That's easy isn't it?"

"I swear if I find poop in my shoes tomorrow you're licking them clean." Rufus muttered, then he stood and had one of those really rare smiles on his face. It lasted for about a second, then it was gone. But lime had seen it.


	6. December 6th

**My Stories belong to me! Do NOT Copy them!**

**Disclaimer: **All characters used in here belong to KoG. I just play around with them.

Rufus stared at his shoes. At least it was no poop. Or at least it didn't look like it. There was a small package in his shoe a card attached to it. He didn't know the handwriting.

"_Thought you might like this."_ The card read.

Rufus shrugged, took the package and put his shoes on, he carelessly put the colorful box on a table and walked out of his room to look at the mission board. No missions for him today. In fact, no missions for anyone. He was a little confused, but didn't think about it. He had enough money for a while and it was a little too cold outside to stay there for too long.

"Good morning!" the cheery voice made his heart skip a beat. But when he saw Arme he was disappointed for a second.

"Morning…" he muttered, staring at the mage. He didn't quite understand why he suddenly felt like this. It wasn't the mage. It wasn't her greeting. But what was it?

Arme stared at him, then grinned. "Look what I got!"

Rufus looked at her new earrings for a second, then shrugged again and turned away. He walked into the kitchen, as most of the chasers meet there in the morning. He was surprised to find it empty.

As he turned he smelled something familiar. He took a step sideways then grabbed the air.

"Let go!" Lass yelled as he got visible. His voice sounded hoarse and he quickly turned around when Rufus let go. The demon rolled his eyes. He hated when his brother followed him. Especially when he did it like this.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing…" Lass was a good liar. But this lie was pathetic.

"Tell me."

"Arme."

Rufus sighed deeply. Ever since Arme left Lass, he had been like someone exchanged him.

"What does he have that I don't?"

"Character, Money, a fancy job?"

Lass glared at his brother. He was about to hit him, but he quickly gave up on that idea. There was no point in hitting him. He'd feel better after that, but what good would it do?

"…But. Why did she-"

"Betray you?" Rufus spat the word out like it was poisoned.

"S-she broke up before she…"

Rufus saw lass bite his lip. In moments like this the demon noticed how much younger his brother was. Smaller or not, he was the big brother. And even if their start wasn't that pretty, they made a promise to always listen to each other. Both didn't trust people, both liked being alone… both wanted people that understood them.

"Lass… I've never been in love. I don't know how to help you." Rufus muttered. He tried to be as silent as he could. Things like that shouldn't be said in the kitchen.

"I… hell I know…. But it hurts. Everytime I see her it stings… She's smiling at me… as if nothing ever happened between us.. it hurts so bad…"

Rufus looked down as tears shot in his brothers eyes. He knew this feeling. Betrayal. What else? He took a step towards his brother and moved his arms around him. The last time they did that the demon had been the one crying.

"You… should talk to her. And stop crying, my shirt's already soaked!" Rufus scolded.

Lass moved away, wiping his face. For a moment he glared at his brother, then the face got softer as two persons entered.

Rufus turned and felt a sting. Arme and Lime had entered the kitchen. Both didn't seem to take note of the brothers as they simply sat down at the table and talked about weird things.

He only listened for a moment. Then Lass was about to run away.

The demon grabbed his sleeve, pulled him over to the table and slammed his fist on it. Both girls screamed in shock, but he didn't care.

"I think you have something to say to my Brother, Arme." Rufus hissed as he glared at the purple eyes of the mage. Lass wanted to free himself, but the demon didn't let go.

Arme looked down. Toying with whatever she had in her hands. "I… don't hate him." Was all she said. Lass stopped struggling, and stared at Arme.

"Then why are you doing this to me?! Why do you hurt me like this! I'm not a toy, Arme! I have feelings!"

Rufus let go of his brother, deciding the assassin would be able to handle this himself. As he turned to Lime he suddenly felt like someone had stolen all the air out of his lungs. The smile she was giving him made him stumble backwards.

"Did you open your present already?" She asked with the most innocent face he could imagine.

He was barely able to shake his head. What the hell was happening to him?!

"Well… if you like it… put it on one of your guns. It's a charm. It's for luck!"

Rufus nodded, then managed to leave the kitchen. What the hell had just happened? Lime must have casted a spell on him… she was capable of a lot of things… yes. That must have been what had happened.

**Oh people I'm so sorry for being so slow with updating this… I have barely enough time to get things done I have to do. I'm sorry.**

**Thank you for all the reviews!**

**I try to update more regular :3**


	7. December 7th

**My Stories belong to me! Do NOT Copy them!**

**Disclaimer: **All characters used in here belong to KoG. I just play around with them.

A nice and sunny day. Snowball fights, snowmen… laughing people. What was there to hate? Arme didn't know. Ever since she talked to Lass her Christmas spirit had vanished in thin air. She didn't care anymore. Lass was desperate to get her back, Ronan made no move towards her, and she had no idea what she wanted. They both were her best friends. But why would they turn into rivals when she loved both? She had to find out for whom she cared more. However that wasn't as easy as it was said. Ronan and Elesis where happy with each other. And she didn't want to ask those two since Ronan was the cause of the problem. Jin and Amy were outside, and those two fought a lot lately. This left one couple. For a moment she thought about it, then she shook her head. Dio and Zero were probably busy.

And they weren't exactly a normal couple. Even when she ignored the fact that both were male. Still, right now there was no one else to ask so she headed for Dio's room. Those two usually were in here.

As she knocked no one answered. But she couldn't hear anything, so she silently opened the door. Candles lit the room, But no one was to be seen.

"Anyone here?" she silently asked. Wondering why she was so desperate to find an answer.

Dio emerged from under what seemed to be three blankets and tons of pillows. His hair was messy and he didn't look too good.

"What the hell do you want…?" the demon asked. His voice was hoarse and he seemed like he would fall asleep at any second.

"Never mind that…. are you alright?" The mage asked, getting a little worried. She knew Dio liked to sleep, but not in broad daylight.

"Would you be alright after falling into ice cold water?! Now piss off!"

Arme lifted an eyebrow, a little confused. "I thought you wouldn't get sick…?"

"I don't get human sicknesses… idiot!"

Arme jumped back. "But-"

"Humans are not able to get this kind of sickness. Do not worry Arme." Zero muttered as he entered the room.

"But you are?"

"I am. However, no one else would want to take care of Dio."

Arme frowned. Of course.

"Let me help then." She muttered.

"Hell no! I want to be alone with Zero!" Dio complained.

This reminded Arme why she came here in the first place.

"I have a few questions to ask anyway!" she said, quickly entered the room and ducked away as Dio threw a pillow at her.

"Dio. We should at least listen to what she has to say." Zero scolded silently.

Dio sighed and crawled back into the blankets.

"I… Really didn't want to ask you… but there is no one else around that I could ask… and…" Arme bit her lip, look outside, then meet Zero's eyes behind the mask.

"I love two guys and can't decide who I like more…"

Zero looked at her long enough to give her the impression that he had no idea what she was talking about.

"As long as those two aren't me and Zero I don't give a shit!" Dio yelled from his sleeping place.

"Arme, I do not think we will be able to help you."

Arme sighed. "There's just no other couple around that I could ask…"

Dio threw another pillow and hit her this time. "Just think about who makes you feel better. And now get lost, stupid mage."

Arme stared at Dio as the pillow fell to the ground. It must have been because he was sick. He'd never say friendly things like that to her.

"…I guess you wouldn't be able to test potions right now eh?" the mage asked with a smirk

"I said get lost!" Dio yelled firing the rest of his pillows towards the mage.

The mage sighed, then left the room. This didn't go as planned.


	8. December 8th

**My Stories belong to me! Do NOT Copy them!**

**Disclaimer: **All characters used in here belong to KoG. I just play around with them.

There was no other way to do this. Arme had to see that she was doing something wrong. Preferably before Lass hurt himself.

Ronan met the mage in the kitchen. The girl always searched for something to eat so this was the most likely place for her to be. Lime was with her as well. The young knight was like a stronger version of Arme.

"Arme… I need to talk to you."

The mage looked at the blue haired knight and bit her lip. She seemed to know what he wanted to say to her.

"I… -"

"Just listen. I told you this already. Lass and I have feelings. And I don't like people that play around with me. You know I am no good company when I get angry, don't take it too far."

The Knight noticed that Lime silently left the room, but didn't care too much about it. At least this girl had common sense.

"I… know. But for the love of Everything holy I can't decide! Lass turned into a real crybaby lately!"

A humorless chuckle escaped the knight. "And what am I? Do you really want to leave Lass for an idiot like me? Trust me he loves you, he trusts you. And he's fine with everything you're doing to him."

"And that's so annoying! He doesn't complain anymore!... I swear one day he 's going to read my books and turns into an Assassin-Mage!"

Ronan frowned. "Since he is a half demon I have no idea what his true abilities are, but isn't that reason a bit… lame? I'm a mage already. You can't teach me anything new. Be happy that he's so patient with you. You know I go crazy when I hang around you for too long…"

Arme sighed. "But… You're nicer. You're better with words… you… "

Ronan shook his head. "I don't love you Arme."

He knew the words hurt her, but she needed them. It was to realize what she really felt for the knight.

She sighed deeply.

"I have a mission with Lass tomorrow, take my place. I do your mission." Ronan muttered, desperately trying to change Armes mind. There was no way he'd leave Elesis for this.


	9. December 9th

**My Stories belong to me! Do NOT Copy them!**

**Disclaimer: **All characters used in here belong to KoG. I just play around with them.

Lime heard Lass and Rufus yell at each other around the corner. She didn't mean to eavesdrop, but they were too loud. A little curious she hid behind the wall and listened.

"I can't believe you'd do this to me!" She heard Lass yell.

"You can't run away from her. If you want to avid her for real you'd have to leave the chase, and you know I wouldn't let you." Rufus seemed really calm, not angry at all.

"Fine! But if she kills me My soul will hunt you forever!"

A soft chuckle. "Your soul would certainly be nicer company than those I have to kill all the time. Now go already."

Lime heard footsteps, then they stopped. Thinking she got caught she tried to think of a good excuse. But then Lass spoke again.

"What kind of…. Things are those?" Lass asked.

"It's a charm… Don't ask me why I did this to my eyeteeth… I have no idea."

Lime's face suddenly lit up. She had spent hours in choosing the right charm. Most of them had bells on them, but Rufus had to be quiet so it couldn't be anything that made noise. In the end it had been a simple charm that had a key and a small card attached. The card said _luck_ but she never thought he'd put it on.

"You like her." Lass muttered. The grin was audible to Lime.

"What?!"

"You like Lime."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Then why do you blush like that?"

"I'm not-"

Lass' laugh echoed through the corridor. Lime herself felt her cheeks getting hot. She did like the bounty hunter from the first moment she had seen him. But he never paid attention to her. when Knightmaster had introduced her to the chase She couldn't stop looking at him, but never knew why. Elesis had red eyes, Asin too. A few more had pointed ears and odd skin colors. It wasn't the look. Something about him made her feel attracted to him.

"Having fun listening?" A voice suddenly asked over her.

Lime had been so deep in thoughts that she didn't notice that Rufus was standing next to her now.

"I-I'm…. s-sorry! I was just passing and… and…-"

The hint of a smile appeared on the bounty hunters face. As always his brown hair covered his right eye, but his face seemed softer. And he was standing closer to her than he'd ever do with anyone than Lass. The simple thought made Lime just gape at the demon.

"D-do you need anything?"

"I was wondering what kind of spell you casted on me." An accusation. She should have known! There was no such thing as this demon trusting her this easy!

"I didn't cast a spell on you!" she yelled. Too fast and too loud. Now that made her look suspicious.

"…Oh I heard Arme talking about a lot of spells that can make people feel like this. Tell me what it is and I get rid of it. If you don't tell me you get in trouble."

Lime bit her lip as she looked at the gun next to her head. His aim was off, but she knew he only missed when he wanted to. The small charm was dancing in front of her eyes, making her bite her lip.

"Y-you wouldn't kill me, right?"

"Depends on what kind of spell it is." He muttered. He slowly lowered his head to look her in the eyes. His glare was full of hate. But as he was so close Lime felt her cheeks getting hot again. She could even feel his breath in her face.

"I didn't cast a spell on you." She repeated. This time quiet and with fear in her voice. He wouldn't kill her, would he? He could be so nice… but she had never seen him fight yet. Maybe his nice side was just a cover.

The gun clicked. Lime bit on her shaking lower lip. This was enough now. Why was this guy so stiff? It made her angry.

"You should think about what you say."

"I never knew I could be so wrong with a gut feeling. I thought you could be a nice person, but you are the worst."

His face got even closer. When their noses almost made contact Lime ripped the charm off his gun and turned away.

"You don't deserve this!" She yelled without looking back.

Angry she walked away, not seeing the hurt face of the demon she left behind.


	10. December 10th

**My Stories belong to me! Do NOT Copy them!**

**Disclaimer: **All characters used in here belong to KoG. I just play around with them.

Lass jumped out of the way the moment Dio stormed through the corridor. The demon had a hurt expression on his face. More hurt than he had ever seen it. Not that he cared, but somehow it worried him. It was an expression Lass had seen on his own face a lot lately. The face of a person that had been left by the one he loved. However, Lass couldn't believe something like that ever happening and continued his way down the hall.

At the kitchen he almost ran into Zero who had the stone like face as always. Something was different about him though. It was probably the fact that Zero had a paper in his hands and the first word Lass could see was "Resignation".

"You want to quit?" Lass asked without thinking.

"I did quit. Leave me alone." Lass frowned. What a cold response. Something was wrong here.

"Why?"

"This does not concern you."

"What about Dio?" The assassin wanted to know, not knowing why he suddenly cared. Maybe because he know how bad a broken heart hurt.

"He will get over it."

Lass eyes widened. Did everyone just have a brainwash lately or what?!

"It never once entered my mind that you could be so cruel." Lass hissed, walking past Zero, purposely pushing him aside. He didn't look back and didn't care.

"I can't believe he really did that." The assassin muttered, still confused. That made no sense. One broken hearted person more. What difference did it make? Didn't seem like anyone cared.

And all that with Christmas so close. Lass shook his head, suddenly not hungry anymore. Zero never really belonged to the team. Maybe he was a traitor or something. Maybe everything he said was just a lie. Maybe… he just used them.

Lass flinched when his brother suddenly stormed into the kitchen. He turned to look at Rufus, but only saw blood. The demon was holding his left arm, a slight panicked expression on his face. Blood running down his arm from deep gashes. Lass jumped off his chair.

"What the hell?! Go to the infirmary, the floo-" Lass stopped mid sentence as the demon suddenly collapsed. What the hell was wrong here today? He caught his brother and lifted him, then rushed to the infirmary.

Arme and Lime sat on chairs, discussing something as Lass kicked the double doors open. Both girls turned, Arme was about to yell but the shriek of Lime made her look closer.

"What the hell happened?" She mage said, tossing a book aside and pointing towards a bed. Lass places the demon on it then went to wash the blood off his hands.

"I have no idea… He just came into the kitchen and collapsed…"

Arme nodded. "Lime get me some bandages." As the mage cleaned the wound she frowned.

"Claws… Dio?"

Lass frowned as well. Rufus probably had been at the wrong place at the wrong time. However, that didn't give that stupid Leviathan the reason to attack Rufus!

Arme bandaged the wound, then looked at Lass for a moment. "You're awfully pale…"

"… Zero and Dio apparently broke up. Not that I care, but Zero left the chase. Probably the reason why Dio was like… this earlier… did something happen to the chase that I didn't know about or what?" Lass muttered, he still didn't know why he was so concerned, but it was a lot like his situation with Arme.

"I heard about it… and they were fine a few days ago… If you ask me, Zero is a big traitor. I can't believe he'd ever do anything like this…"

"Maybe he was just playing with us…" Lass answered.

Lime moved closer, staring at the unconscious demon on the bed. For some reason it hurt her seeing him like this.

"From what I heard, Zero was such a nice person." The Knight almost whispered, as if afraid to wake Rufus.

"The one that hurt you the most are the people pretending to be your friends... and the worst is if they are good enough to make you believe that they are. They are nice to you and use you and you never notice… " Arme muttered as if just realizing it. Then she looked up met Lass eyes. Lass didn't know what she was planning when she stood and put her hands on his shoulders, then leaning in and stealing a kiss.

"You're better than Ronan." She whispered, smiling with a slight blush. Lass turned away, trying to hide his shaking.

Lime was a little surprised that Arme wasn't too shy to kiss someone in front of her, but she was also impressed. Arme was so different. So mature… she turned to look at Rufus, seeing his pained face. She barely registered that Lass said he wanted to talk to Dio.

Suddenly she felt bad at how she had treated the bounty hunter. But that didn't mean she'd forgive him for pointing his gun at her and destroying the charm. Still she didn't like that the demon had gotten hurt like this. She made a mental note to talk to Dio once Rufus woke up again.

**This will be my last Story featuring Zero and Dio as a pairing. It reminds me too much of a friendship that suddenly ended. For now I made Zero leave and I hate him to no end right now. Probably because I am associating this person with Zero… If I wouldn't have made him leave I would have killed either him or Dio… but since all m stories are related to each other I can't kill people. I'm sorry for everyone that liked this pairing, but I can't. I just can't write it anymore. Maybe someday, when everything's sorted out… but for now it's enough. **

**Thank you.**


	11. December 11th

**My Stories belong to me! Do NOT Copy them!**

**Disclaimer: **All characters used in here belong to KoG. I just play around with them.

Silence. Endless silence lingered over the castle. Someone leaving the chase. That had never happened before. Some got suspended for a few days, but no one got ever kicked out or even left on their own. And now that it was Zero, no one really knew what had been going on. They started asking Dio all kinds of questions, but then Dio just stormed out of the castle a few hours ago and no one had seen him since then. Lass had tried to talk to him without asking questions, but the demon refused to say one word.

It had started to rain a while ago, making the streets slippery as the snow was still covering them. Lime sighed deeply as she finally stepped back into the warm castle. Not that she was really searching for a missing demon. But if she had run into him she would have convinced him to come back. So far Zero and Dio where nowhere to be seen so Lime gave up. For now. And there was another reason why she had been outside anyway. She wanted flowers. Of course she'd never do something regrettable as to sneak into the queen's garden. But…she felt pathetic when she thought about how she asked the queen… on her knees almost crying, begging for a flower or two. Right now the castle of the queen was the only place where flowers could be found anyway. And, the queen had been amused as she ordered Lime to follow her and picked quite a dew flowers. She had asked why she wanted the flowers, but Lime refused to answer.

Now the girl headed upstairs. She'd clean the floor later. Softly she knocked at a door, and heard a soft voice telling her to enter. Lime squinted as she tried to see anything in the dark room, then gave up.

"Why do you sit in the dark?"

"I want to."

"Is your arm alright?"

"It will heal. What do you want?"

Lime sighed, then entered the room and closed the door. She bumped into a chair and would have fallen down, but suddenly two arms held her.

"Be careful. Stupid girl."

"I… brought you some flowers… you…-" Lime got pulled back and was sitting on something soft now. A moment later the curtains opened and the fading daylight lit the room.

"Flowers? For me?" Rufus seemed puzzled. Maybe even a bit scared. This had never happened before.

"As an apology… I was being mean to you…" Lime muttered, then took something out of a pocket in her dress. The charm she had ripped. It was now repaired. Rufus shook his head and took a step backwards, he bumped into the wall, then stood there and started at Lime. His guns were lying on the table. He had been cleaning them… for now he was without protection.

"I put them on the table." She said as she placed the flowers and the charm on the table.

"Don't touch the guns!" Rufus growled as Lime looked at the eyeteeth. She flinched, then looked at the demon. Understanding why he was suddenly acting like this she took a step away from the table.

"It's okay. I wouldn't touch them. " She smiled, holding her hands up for him to see.

"Get away from there."

"No."

"I said go away!"

Lime shook her head. She was standing close enough to take one of the guns once he was moving towards her. And he was absolutely sure that she would.

"I will not move a hair, Rufus. I promise that."

She knew he didn't believe her, but she could stand there for quite a long time. Well. Until she needed to do girl things.

"You can promise what you want little girl. You know I don't believe any of you little pests." His voice was shaking slightly.

"Trust me." She whispered. She stood like a statue, not moving at all.

"I don't… trust you."

"There is no reason for me to hurt you."

"People don't need a reason to hurt others! Look what Dio did to my arm!" He gestured to his left arm. As the shirt he was wearing had no sleeves Lime could see that the wound was above the blue circles on his left arm. She didn't know what kind of symbol it was, but it seemed to be important to him.

"That wasn't nice of Dio… but are you sure he did it on purpose?"

"He could have wounded any part of my body, but he took the left arm. I do think this was on purpose."

Lime shrugged. She also had wounds like that before. But she didn't think too much about the one giving them to her. Then again. Those people hadn't been comrades.

"Rufus, that is ridiculous." Lime scolded. "Not everyone is a bad person!"

"Then let's start with you. You tricked me, tried to earn my trust and then you destroyed it again because you had fun?"

Lime frowned. "I was upset! What would you think if I threaten you to smash you with my Gavel? You pointed your freaking gun at me!"

Rufus stared at her for a moment.

"How are people supposed to trust **you** if you treat them like this?!"

Rufus blinked, not once looking away from the knight. "I don't feel save here. I don't feel save anywhere… the only protection I have are my guns…"

Lime bit her lip. That was way more complicated than she'd thought.

"The come here and get them I will not move. I promised."

Rufus took a step, ready to duck away whenever she decided to take his guns. But she didn't. He slowly made his way to the table without Lime moving in the slightest. Then there was this feeling again. It made his heart race.

"Oh so you thought you get me with casting a spell again."

"I don't cast spells on anyone if it's not needed! I need them for serious situations!"

"Then what the hell is this damn feeling?! What did you do too me?!"

Lime was confused for a moment, then she saw hint of red on his cheeks and started to laugh. It was a laugh of relief, of finally understanding what the hell was wrong with this demon. He heard that it was no evil laughing, but he couldn't place it and pointed a gun at her. She gently put her hands on the raised gun and smiled.

"You're in love with me." She said, noticing that he suddenly started to shake.

"That's… it's not possible! I… I can't… I… wouldn't leave…" he let go of the gun as his legs gave in. How? He never. Never fell in love. He was alone. He always wanted it to stay that way!

"Who would you leave?" Lime wanted to know, a little confused now.

"Lass…. I'm his brother I have to look after him… I can't leave him alone….!"

The girl lifted an eyebrow, then crouched down in front of the demon.

"Why would you leave him alone?"

"My father left me when he fell in love… he never came back… and abandoned his second child as well…. I don't…. want to be like this!" He punched the wall as he said those words.

"Love ruins everything! I can't love…. I never did… I-"

Lime slowly put her hands on his shoulders. He flinched and she took her hands away. "You're confused. That's okay… it isn't like people say in books. It hurts and it's full of sacrifices…." She was looking at the trembling demon, not knowing what to do. She had been in love once, but that was something different. She liked this demon quite a bit, but he seemed so fragile right now.

"It scares me… why did that just happen… how is this possible?"

"I don't know. But I know you like me. I like you too. Quite a bit actually…" she laughed nervously as he looked up. His red eyes glowed in the beginning darkness.

"Is… is it okay to touch you?" he silently asked. Lime frowned for a second, but he didn't seem to have anything weird in mind so she nodded. Carefully he reached out and touched her shoulders. She didn't move. Not when he looked away and not when he stared at her so deeply that she thought he'd kill her.

"Can I trust you?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.


	12. December 12th

**My Stories belong to me! Do NOT Copy them!**

**Disclaimer: **All characters used in here belong to KoG. I just play around with them.

Love. A word that seemed so far away now. He didn't see the decorations anymore, didn't hear the voices talking to him. The only words were the ones _he _had said before he kicked him out of the room.

"_I never loved you!"_

The simple thought of those words stung like needles. Dio knew those words where a lie. But deep down inside he couldn't believe it completely. Dio know how it felt like to do things with someone he didn't love. And it was nothing like what he and Zero had done. It was almost funny how fast things could end. Zero had held up the letter of his resignation, an expression of anger on his face. Something Dio had never seen before. His eyes seemed like they were made of liquid fire as he yelled at him.

Dio had never read the letter Zero had left for him. It was lying on his nightstand on top of the smaller demons favorite book, but Dio had never opened it. He was afraid to know what was written in there. He was scared of the truth. Scared of what the wanderer could say about him, of how much he actually hated him. And Dio knew he would break apart if he the words he heard from everyone would ever come over the lips of the silver-haired demon. Or in this case, out of his pen. It was the same Situation.

No one had seen Zero, no one seemed to care. Dio had searched for the demon after he accidentally wounded Rufus a few days ago. It wasn't on purpose. He might even apologize for it. But not now.

Curiosity made him take the letter again, but he only looked at the envelope. Sometimes he held it closer to a candle to see if he could read anything, but Zero had used thick paper.

'_He knew'._ A little voice whispered in Dio's head. His conscience? He wondered if he even had something like that. Sometimes his fingers moved towards the letter inside it. The envelope wasn't sealed or anything. Maybe it wasn't even for him. The letter had no seal or anything. Maybe it was only something Zero noted. And then Dio was close to open the letter, but he got scared again and put it back to its place on the book.

Sometimes Dio took the book itself and read a few pages from somewhere in between. Sometimes he read it from the beginning. But he never read more than ten pages until he felt the tears sting in his eyes. He had been punished for being a bad lover already. This was a while ago. Zero had never said a word about it. He cheated, he had done things… then something happened that wasn't his fault. Zero never accused him of anything.

But this time… this time Dio didn't remember anything he had done wrong. Zero had been back from a mission, and Dio wanted to greet him. The demon made him wait in front of the door for half an hour. Then all this had happened… Zero didn't have his mask on. Dio could see the stone like features that weren't like stone anymore. And then Zero yelled. Dio had heard him raise his voice before, but Zero never yelled. In a fight sometimes, but never with words.

And then the first time Dio had heard him yell, Zero had been yelling at him. The sounds of the words hurt more than their actual meaning. And Dio knew quite well that Zero knew what those words meant.

He wondered why Zero had gotten so cold…


	13. December 13th

**My Stories belong to me! Do NOT Copy them!**

**Disclaimer: **All characters used in here belong to KoG. I just play around with them.

Lass made a disgusted face as he saw a dead cat on a stone. It was obvious that it didn't die in a natural way. For a moment the Assassin forgot about the thick snow below his feet, or his brother walking next to him. He just wanted to know why someone had killed a cat. It wasn't even a black one. There was an arrow in the cat's neck, but none of Lire's. No one else used arrow or could aim well enough. Unless Rufus had exchanged his guns with a bow.

"Stop staring at it, it won't come back to life." Rufus muttered. Lass turned around and looked at the smaller demon. His brown hair was moving slightly in the wind, and the red eyes stared at him with a different expression than usual. He seemed strangely satisfied.

"Did something happen I don't know about?" Lass asked as they continued to walk down the path into the forest. A smile that was almost disturbing crept over Rufus' face for a second. Then he slowly pulled one of his guns. The left one. Lass noticed a small charm on it, but as he reached out to stop the small card from dancing and read the words, his brother pulled it away.

"Don't ever touch it."

Lass sighed, then shook his head. "Are you afraid it'll lose its meaning if I do or what?"

Rufus blinked, seemed like Lass had been right. Lass laughed.

"Alright, alright. I won't touch it. Where'd you got it from?"

"Lime…."

A knowing smile appeared on Lass' face. Rufus had spoken her name softly and with a lot of feelings in it. He put the gun away without saying anything else.

"So… you do lover her?"

"I…I'm not sure. It's a different feeling from the love I feel for you."

Lass blinked. He knew what Rufus meant but it sounded weird to hear him say this.

"Of course it's different!" Lass yelled and threw a snowball at the demon. "I'm your brother!"

Rufus ducked away and grinned. A grin without emotions. The one he had when he was close to get what he wanted. It sometimes looked really insane. And Lass noticed that Rufus was pretty accurate in throwing. It had changed. The last time he'd seen his brother throwing something he never hit. But then again, at that time Rufus had been badly wounded.

Lass soon felt a snowball in his face and fell on his butt. A laugh escaped the demon. A laugh that was so honest and pure that it sent a shiver down his spine. Whatever Lime had done to him, his broken heart seemed to heal.

But that was no reason for Rufus to think he had won. Lass jumped back to his feet and threw more snowballs at him.

"I won't go easy on you!" Lass yelled. Rufus just grinned and dodged the salve of snowballs that flew into his direction.


	14. December 14th

**My Stories belong to me! Do NOT Copy them!**

**Disclaimer: **All characters used in here belong to KoG. I just play around with them.

It was true that no one liked Dio. Or at least not enough to talk to him when it wasn't necessary. But after the demon had refused to show up for the mission he and Lass had been on, Lass got slightly angry. The demon was sulking, but he couldn't take this out on everyone else!

Lass didn't bother to knock at Dio's door when he opened the door. Dio was sitting on the edge of his bed, his head hanging down and he didn't even seem to notice that Lass had entered the room.

"Hey! You can't just refuse a mission without telling anyone!" Lass yelled.

Dio looked up, dark circles under his eyes as if he hadn't slept in a few days. He seemed desperate, lost somewhere as if being controlled. Lass shivered.

"It's no use… it wouldn't change a thing…"

"Oh it would help people that _**need**_ our help you selfish bastard!" Lass yelled.

"Then I am selfish…. Who cares." The voice was almost completely monotone, and seemed like it lost all strength. Lass rolled his eyes. Not even when Arme had been so meant to him he had given up on his missions.

"I care. The whole chase cares because they're all suffering from you stupid behavior! You hurt my brother without reason you damn bastard!"

Dio looked up a bit more, then shrugged and turned back to stare at the ground.

"Quit sulking goddammit! You're not the only one being left by their lover!"

Suddenly Dio covered his face. "Get out!" he yelled, shouting at Lass as loud as his strained voice made it possible. Lass noticed that this wasn't more than a whisper. Dio's voice seemed to give up a lot when he was as upset as this.

"Quit sulking. Life goes on."

"What if I don't want it to go on?"

Lass flinched. No. This was wrong. Way too wrong to think. He knew those thoughts, he knew how bad they hurt but how comforting they seemed at the same time. He knew how it was like to have thoughts like this, but having no control over his own body. He knew.

"Get over it. Some of us had things far worse happening to them."

"Is it wrong to have enough of this? Then I am selfish… but wouldn't everyone have enough of this, one day?!"

Lass sighed deeply. This totally didn't fit the demon that attacked before thinking.

"You don't even live half as long as I do. You can't know **what** I've seen and lived through. I never thought much, but it's enough… I can't take it anymore… leave me alone…"

Great. Lass shivered and backed out of the room. A suicidal demon. Awesome. It took two knights and a mage to get Lass away from thinking of killing himself. The official story was all nice and happy, but lass knew exactly how painful it was. Getting freed from Kaze'aze and having no regrets after they talked about it once. Ha! What stupid people. Lass didn't like to think about this. He needed someone who could prevent Dio from doing this without getting killed by him.

Sieghart seemed to be the only logical choice…


	15. December 15th

**My Stories belong to me! Do NOT Copy them!**

**Disclaimer: **All characters used in here belong to KoG. I just play around with them.

Dio wondered about the letter on the book again. He still hadn't opened it, and by now he felt like he'd never do it. Why should he anyway? He knew what was written in there. Somehow. He just knew it.

A knock that was louder than the few knocks in the past days made him flinch. Sieghart. Without doubt.

"Go away Immortal asshole."

"Ah, so you can still insult people. And I thought you completey changed from what Lass told me."

"Why do you care?!"

"Because your sulking is affecting the Missions. I don't like doing more work than I have to."

Dio sighed, not really caring about it. At least the highlander left him alone for a while.

"That's not my problem."

"Oh I can _make_ it yours." Sieghart hissed as he opened the door. The stared at the demon for a second, then had this damned feeling he always had when his granddaughter was feeling bad. It was like watching a child!

"Kid, you can't be depressed for the rest of your life."

"I don't plan on doing that."

Dios voice was determined and somehow this scared Sieghart. The idiot wasn't going to do something to hurt himself, right? While Sieghart was trying to think of words that would help the demon he noticed and unopened envelope on a red book. There was nothing written on it, but Sieghart thought he knew what was written in there.

"You don't plan to kill yourself, right?" Sieghart muttered as he picked up the envelope and pulled the letter out. It opened immediately and a picture fell down. Dio wanted to grab the letter, but when he saw the photograph he caught it and stared. A Picture of Zero. The face that he never thought he'd see again. Unmasked. He wondered who was willing to take this picture, but he didn't care. His heart raced, suddenly wanting to read this letter. Sieghart still had it, and he was reading it.

"Hell Kiddo….. you didn't read this letter." A laugh. It sounded relieved for some reason. "That demon tricked us all and not even you noticed… " Sieghart gave the letter back then he sat down and waited for the reaction.

Dio's eyes widened as he saw the words for the first time.

'_I apologize that I had to end it this way. There was nothing else I could think about. Please know that what I said is not true. I want to apologize to you personally; however, I do not think this is possible for me. I know I hurt your feelings. _

_You are asking yourself what you did wrong. Dio, it is not your fault. Duell has been spotted, and I knew how you would have reacted if I had told you. Know that I still love you. Remember the good times. Please do not forget me shall I not return._

_In love, Zero'_

Dio blinked, then shook his head as the letter fell out of his shaking hands. This was a lie. A lie! Zero couldn't just fight Duel. Not on his own! The Leviathan jumped on his feet, but he couldn't find his balance and fell down. Down on his hands and knees Dio realized the meaning of all those words. Zero had done it so Dio would be safe. Of course! But it hurt. Dio rather died with him than waited forever for him to return.

He hadn't noticed that hand on his back. The voice that told him to calm down. Dio couldn't remember a day when he had cried so bad. Not when the past things happened, not even when this one thing against his will happened. He cried a lot… but this time it was different

"Calm down for fucks sake!" Sieghart yelled, shaking the demon slightly. That seemed to help as Dio slowly quieted down.

"He'll be back. No one can kill him this easy. You have to show this letter to Knightmaster, or Zero won't be welcome here when he comes back."

Dio nodded. He would. But for now he had to calm down first. There was no way he'd be able to walk into this office without starting to cry like a baby.

"And don't worry, I've never been here, and I didn't read, or saw anything." Sieghart muttered as he stood and left the room.

Dio was confused, but he didn't care. At least Sieghart could use his brain when he had to.


	16. December 16th

**My Stories belong to me! Do NOT Copy them!**

**Disclaimer: **All characters used in here belong to KoG. I just play around with them.

"Oh now they remember missions but nothing else!" Rufus yelled at the mission board. Usually he wasn't the type to refuse a mission, but that was just… He didn't give much about it but… Sighing he turned away from the board and went to clean his weapons. A solo mission. At least that was something nice.

A knock on his door made him flinch. "Who's bothering?"

"Me." Lass' voice.

"What the hell do you want?"

"Look…I know we forgot about it… you can switch missions with me."

"It's a solo mission. At least no one would bother me."

"But-"

"Well. You're the only one who remembers it anyway, so why bothering."

He heard Lass sigh as he walked away. This really wasn't the best day for a mission, but who was he to complain. He never really cared for this day anyway, so why now.

When he opened his Room he almost stumbled over a small package. He shook his head and picked it up. The writing on the small card was Lass'. Of course Lass would have been the only one remembering it.

He left his room without bothering to open the package. But when he was about to leave the castle Lime was suddenly blocking his way.

"Where are you going?"

The bounty hunter blinked. After what happened a few days ago he was extremely anxious about getting too close of her. He was afraid of her for some reason. He didn't know why, but it hurt. He didn't want to be scared of someone he liked so much.

"I-I'm on a mission…." He muttered. It hurt, seeing her eyes like this. He had been avoiding her for some time now.

"Can I tag along?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I… don't want company…"

"The solo stuff huh…? Come on, it'll be fun."

Sighing he agreed, even when he didn't really want to. There was no way he needed help in stocking up items. There was nothing much to do these days anyway. Monsters tended to stay in their caves as it got too cold for them to do anything else.

Lime walked close to him when they left the castle, looking at him from time to time. He pretended not to notice and just stomped through the snow. The next town was a few hours away and they would probably have to stop for the night.

"We could take a horse."

"I won't."

"Why not?"

"I… demons don't-"

"You can't ride a horse?"

Rufus rolled his eyes. What was so weird about it? Dio couldn't swim. Or at least everyone thought that.

"I don't like them." At least that was true. But nothing of interest for the young knight.

"I'll show you someday." She grinned, pulling her scarf over her mouth. She seemed to be freezing already. It was too cold for Rufus' tastes. Way too cold.

"Hey, if you're freezing tell me. Then we find some place to stay for the night…" How he hated people that went on missions with him. But something in his mind made him think that this would be useful. He still didn't know how though.

"I'm not freezing! And we're not even walking for an hour yet!" Lime immediately complained.

Of course the girl was defensive.

As they walked on Rufus suddenly felt the presence of monsters. A second later Lime screamed. The ground where she was standing had given in.

Rufus jumped at her, grabbed her hand, but he was pulled down as well. As the fell Rufus grabbed the girl and pulled her close, covering her head with his arms, waiting for the impact.

His back hit something hard and he felt how all air left his lungs. Not a second later everything got pitch black around him.

A cold hand made him open his eyes, then he gasped for air. His head hurt and he felt dizzy.

"Are… you alright?" the demon was barely able to say a word.

"Of course I am, are you stupid?! You could have died!" she yelled at him.

He flinched, tried to get up, but other than telling him that a few ribs were broken, it didn't do much.

"Hold still, let me heal you!" the girl yelled. Then watched as he slowly sat up despite the pain he must have been in. With a hint of panic he stared at his left arm. It was uselessly hanging down, as if broken. Sighing he grabbed it with his other hand and a few cracks later he was able to move it again. Lime actually began to feel sick. What was this?

"Don't puke over me." He muttered, then inspected the wound on his leg. It didn't seem like he'd be able to walk, but he pulled out some bandages and treated the wound.

"I…. I…" Lime blabbed, fascinated that this demon seemed so used to situations like this. He turned on his side, slowly getting to his feet. He didn't look good, and his suppressed moaning didn't make it better for her, but somehow she was amazed at his willpower.

"Come on, we have to find a way out of here." Rufus offered her his hand, but she refused and stood herself. A few minor scratches. Nothing bad. She noticed it was starting to get dark when she looked up.

"Let me heal you…"

"No."

"Why?"

"My body will heal soon enough."

"But-"

"Shut up."

When Rufus looked around and found no obvious path he tried to find a way to climb back up. But this hole was not straight. They had to be like spiders to get up there.

"We're trapped." Rufus declared, slumping to the ground like a stone. Then he sat there, staring into the beginning darkness. "Water wouldn't be the problem, there is enough snow here… We can last a few days without food. But the cold will definitely-"

"You just give up like this?!" Lime yelled.

"Look around you. There is no way out."

"But… I could find a way-"

"With that hammer? You left it there." Rufus pointed above him.

Lime was impressed that he could remember something like this.

"But…"

"…Lass can sense me. Don't worry too much." But they both knew that this mission would have taken at least two days. There would be no one that would get worried about them for two days at least.

Lime bit her lip, then curled up as she noticed that she felt cold already. Slowly she looked up when she noticed Rufus shifting. He was removing his shirt.

"What are you-"

"Take your blouse off."

She blushed. "B-but…"

"Do you want to freeze or be warm?"

"I don't want to freeze, but-"

"We could sit next to each other with clothing on, but that wouldn't work. I don't mind freezing, but I don't want to explain your death to them."

Biting her lip Lime complied. Rufus didn't dare to look at her when she was sitting next to her. He moved his arms around her and pulled her closer. Lime immediately felt his warmth and closed her eyes. She fought the thoughts about being half naked and sitting next to a good looking demon she actually liked. A lot.

"You don't have any weapons with you, right?"

"My only weapon is up there…" she muttered. It sounded like she was close to tears.

"Good."

"Why did you ask?"

"Distrust…."

Lime looked up, seeing his face. But he had turned it away from her. From down there she could see both of his eyes. He seemed scared.

"Don't you demons have some telepathic… something?"

"No. Lass and I can sense each other. But that's everything."

"Oh…" the girl sighed deeply and was surprised when on the the hands holding her suddenly rested on her hair.

"Can I ask what that blue thing on your left arm is?"

A dry chuckle. "The dragon found it tasty I guess."

Lime frowned. She knew he was cynical, but sarcastic?

"It's not real?"

"It is. And it isn't. It's not mine, but I can feel it."

A shiver raced down Limes spine. That was disturbing.

"Why do you distrust people?"

"Is that some kind of interrogation?"

"I'm just curious…. You don't have to answer."

Rufus sighed. This reminded him of the conversation he had with Lass so many months ago.

"My father left me alone when I was quite young… I think I've never been a social person, but that made it worse… There weren't many persons I've spoken to until I joined the chase…"

Lime sighed, as if feeling bad for the demon. Rufus hated pity probably as much as he hated his father.

"I see…"

The demon shrugged, not caring too much. For now he had to focus on staying calm until someone noticed they were trapped. Being trapped wasn't exactly a situation for him to stay sane.


	17. December 17th

**My Stories belong to me! Do NOT Copy them!**

**Disclaimer: **All characters used in here belong to KoG. I just play around with them.

Lime shifted as someone shook her shoulder. She lifted her head from the chest of the demon. As she was still half asleep she didn't think much about the fact that she was still half naked.

"Put your clothing on." The demon whispered, picked up his cold shirt as Lime backed away. It was still dark and Lime could barely see anything. But she saw enough to notice that the demon next to her was shaking. She felt cold too, but not to the point of shaking.

"Are you al-"

"Shh."

Lime frowned. Rufus told her to get up, then used the strong arms of the knight to pull himself back to his feet. He limped a few steps, until he was standing below the hole they had fallen through earlier. Rufus didn't know what time it was, and he didn't care. They had to get out. Now. The panic in him grew with each passing minute and he didn't want Lime to see him like this.

"Rufus… what are you doing?"

The demon looked at her. She was able to see his eyes in the bright moonlight. They looked different. Frightened.

"N…nothing." His voice gave in. Slowly he pulled his guns and shot at where he thought Lime's weapon was. But other than more snow falling down on them nothing happened. Suddenly Rufus lunged forward and hit the stone walls with his fists. He yelled things Lime couldn't understand, but she understood his behavior. He was panicking. She didn't like this situation one bit but it was no use in doing this.

"Rufus!" she yelled. Faintly noting that it sounded like she was calling a dog. But the demon didn't react. It wasn't save to get closer to him, she knew, but she couldn't look at him like this. Sighing she jumped at him, pulling him backward to the ground until both sat there. The demon was trembling, breathing heavily. Slowly she moved her arms around him to calm him down.

"We'll get out of here… but please don't hurt yourself…"

"You don't know anything about this… ask Lass how it is to be trapped… he'll be able to explain it better…"

Lime sighed deeply and carefully took one of his gloved hands. Almost whispering she casted her healing spell. She would heal his hands and ribs. The leg could wait. As she was almost done something suddenly smashed into the ground next to them. Lime's gavel.

"Ha!" Lime exclaimed, jumped back to her feet and picked up the weapon.

"Try to find a hole in this mess…." Rufus muttered. He obviously didn't think that would be possible.

"You have this big gun… the one you have to put down to shoot… Wouldn't it be easier to find a hole with it? I can smash it open then…."

"The Soul Arbiter? That noise would bring all the snow down here…. Wait. I have another idea … It's crazy but it might work."

"Oh?" Lime turned around to look at the demon.

"Go to that wall and lie on the ground, hands over your head."

Lime complied, but was incredibly confused. Then she saw him throwing something in the air. A second later Rufus jumped at her and covered her body with his own, then the earsplitting sound of an explosion could be heard. Lime began to scream in fear as the ground suddenly seemed to move.

A minute later Rufus backed away and looked around. There was enough snow in there now. Enough to climb back up. He felt stupid for not thinking about this earlier. He helped Lime back to her feet and limped towards the pile of snow.

Back on the surface Rufus shook his head at his own stupidity again.

"What the hell did you throw?! I thought you're going to let the whole cave explode!" Lime yelled, her face flushed with anger.

"It's called a grenade… It worked so stop complaining. Let's get back to the castle for now."

"What about the mission?"

"…You can go alone if you want to." With that the demon turned around and limped back. Lime looked at him for a moment then decided to follow him.

"Knight Master will get angry…"

"I don't care."

"But-"

"What?"

"N-nothing…."

"Tell me." He turned around and glared at her.

"…Knight Master wanted me to follow you on this mission… everything that happened was planned…. More or less. I didn't know you'd get hurt or are afraid of being locked in…"

Rufus eyes widened and he took a step backwards. Again. Why?... He couldn't take it anymore. They betrayed him again. As if all strength had left his body he fell on his knees, ignored the pain in his leg and just stared at the white snow.

This was enough…

"I… I'm sorry! We wanted to surprise you when we got back… the cave had a way out… but it was hidden under the snow, I wasn't allowed to tell you anything… And… and…-"

Lime stopped talking as Rufus grabbed her sleeve and looked up.

"I wanted to trust you…"


	18. December 18th

**My Stories belong to me! Do NOT Copy them!**

**Disclaimer: **All characters used in here belong to KoG. I just play around with them.

No matter how hard he tried, Lass couldn't get rid of the bad feeling he had since he had woken up with a nightmare. There was no reason to be worried though. Ronan was here, Arme was busy with experiments… Rufus on a mission that would be over later today. Pretty much everyone was safe. Still, something was odd here.

The assassin dashed through the corridors and spotted Knight Master as she cursed at something under a table.

"What the hell are you doing there?" The younger one asked, not quite getting what this was supposed to mean.

Lothos hit her head when she back out from under the table and stood too early. Cursing she rubbed her head.

"A surprise party!" Amy suddenly yelled, running into the room.

"What? Why?"

"Because we all forgot Rufus' birthday!"

"I didn't forget!" Lass yelled, glared at the dancer, then at the blonde knight. But now it made sense.

"That's why you sent him on this stupid mission!" Lass yelled at Knight Master

"They should be back soon. Everything was planned out."

"They?"

"Lime was acting as bait."

Lass glared at the knight. "You know that he won't understand that this was just a joke when he finds out, right?"

"He wouldn't?"

"He doesn't trust us! How would you like if Dio kidnapped you and played a prank on you?!"

"But he seemed to like Lime…"

Lass threw his hands in the air with an exasperated sound. Awesome. Now he was even more nervous!

He watched the others setting up various kinds of things, but didn't really look at what they did. Dio was leaning on a wall, eyes closed and seemed incredibly nervous. Probably for a different reason, but this didn't fit the demon.

"You're alright?"

"Why do you care?"

"Curiosity."

"Shove it up your ass." With that Dio teleported away. Everyone was acting so weird lately. Dio had a good excuse, but still. Sighing Lass turned back to the Girls fussing with their _surprise_. Lass was sure the only surprise they'd see would be Rufus freaking out. And that was not a nice sight.

A few more hours passed and Lass couldn't take it anymore. Rufus should have been back hours ago.

"Something happened." He declared and was about to storm out of the castle, but Arme held him back.

"They'll be fine, why are you so upset?"

"I know something happened. It's not just a thought…"

"You're imagining things."

"Probably…" Sighing he looked at the mage, trying to forget his feelings for a moment, but it didn't work. When the front door suddenly opened lass felt relieved, but worried at the same time. This didn't look like nothing had happened. It was snowing like crazy and Lime seemed to be quite close to be frozen to death, but that didn't interest Lass as Rufus entered the hall. He was limping, looking around like a scared animal.

Amy jumped out of her hiding place, about to yell whatever she had in mind as Rufus' legs gave in and he fell to the ground. Lass caught him in the last second and lifted him. Again. What the hell was going on here?

"Clean that stuff up. There will be no party!" Lass yelled at them as he carried his brother to his room. He was cold, but not as bad as Lass thought it would be.

"What the hell happened?" The assassin asked the unconscious demon. Of course he didn't answer, but that wasn't necessary. The wound on Rufus' leg was more than enough to tell him that this mission didn't go as it was planned. A knock made Lass look up. The Door opened a second later.

"Lime's worried sick… is he alright?" Arme asked.

"You're the nurse here. Don't ask me."

Arme sighed and entered the room. "He should be alright… after I took care of that wound…"

Lass watched her treating the wound, then looked at Rufus' face. The red eyes opened a second later.

"The girl's alright…?"

"She's fine. She's worried about you."

"I'm okay… just tired…"

"What happened…"

"We were trapped… "

Arme lifted her eyebrows, but Lass moved closer to the demon and hugged him.

"I… don't know why, but I knew something happened…"

"I know… We can sense it. Probably because we're cursed with the same father…"

"Let's forget the crap for now… They wanted to throw a party for you…"

"Do they want to die?"

A soft chuckle. "Maybe… I saw Dio running around with a letter earlier."

"So… they didn't forget?"

"The did. But… they remembered. Somehow."

"Lime told us… she said she read it in the files… She was really excited that your birthday is in this month…." Arme explained.

"Hell I don't even care about it…"

"At least you remember yours… I'm adopted, I have no real birthday. Lass can't remember his… and the others either didn't care or didn't tell anyone."

"Then… why do they know mine?"

Lass laughed silently. He knew a lot about the demon by now.

"Let's stop that for now… Ronan and I made a cake… At least that can be enjoyed I think… And hell… Rufus your room is a blank as the room of someone who just moved in! Where's your Christmas spirit?!"

"I must have lost it along with the trust for you guys."

Arme frowned. Sarcasm? From him?

"I guess I really don't know you at all…" The mage muttered.

**Sorry for that much dialogue :D**

**I didn't have enough sleep tonight and was thinking about a lot of things… So the quality in the last stories isn't really nice. I might re-write them some day. But first I finish all stories :D**

**Btw, what happened to that copy-cat story? I was kinda curious as to how it would turn out.**


	19. December 19th

**My Stories belong to me! Do NOT Copy them!**

**Disclaimer: **All characters used in here belong to KoG. I just play around with them.

Christmas was getting closer and by now no one was able to hide from it anymore. Arme made sure that no one hid. Asin had found bells on his door this morning, no one knew what she surprised Dio with, but the demon was yelling as if she had taken his most precious possession.

Rin and Lime helped Arme to decorate the last of the corridors Siegahrt had refused anything decorative in _his_ corridor, but since he was out on a mission he couldn't argue anymore. Elesis was carrying a box towards the other girls.

"He'll rip your heads off." The female Knight muttered. She didn't seem too impressed at all this.

"He should stop being grumpy. Dio, Lass and Rufus are enough!" Arme muttered.

"Dio's only pissed because you put fake snow in front of his door and he slipped."

"How is it possible to slip on fake snow?"

Elesis shrugged and put the box down. "As for the other two… They stick together like lovers, not like siblings…"

"As if you know anything about siblings." Another voice sounded behind them. Lire. She was carrying a smaller box.

"Let's hope the old geezer doesn't get too pissed…" Elesis muttered When she opened the door to Siegharts room. The room was surprisingly clean. Elesis wouldn't have expected that this lazy guy was to be so organized.

"Let's put the candles here." Arme ordered and pointed to a drawer. Limed complied, but she seemed a bit hesitant.

After ten minutes the girls where done and proceeded to the next room. They decided not to bother Rufus so they moved on to Jins room. Amy had done most of the decorating here, so there was nothing to do for them. The last room on the third floor was Zeros.

Arme was standing there and biting her lip as if afraid to enter the room. Elesis wasn't so shy. She grabbed the door handle and smashed the door open. No one was in there. They all knew it, but it was a bit saddening to see that it was actually true.

"We shouldn't do this… "

"Maybe his books like a bit company… Zero left out of nowhere without taking anything with him… isn't there anything he's holding dear?" Lire almost whispered.

"Who knows… maybe he wanted to come back." Rin answered.

"I'd kick this asshole to the moon if he ever decides to show up again!" Elesis yelled.

"Elesis!" A male voice scolded from behind. Ronan.

The red headed Knight turned around and grinned at the male knight.

"Knight Master wants to see us all…" Ronan's voice was quiet, as if something terrible just had happened. Suddenly no one was in the mood for decorating things anymore. This had gotten serious.

Down in Knight Masters office they chasers waited for the new Knight Master wanted to share. Arme faintly noted that Sieghart was there too, but she was too busy with listening to the blonde knight.

"I just got a letter from the queen." She muttered as she waved said letter in the air.

"Dio, please take a seat."

Arme shook her head before she knew that she did it. That wasn't good…. Dio was about to argue but Ronan put a hand on his arm and the demon complied.

"It seems that there was a fight in Archimedia. Dwarves found Duels dead bo-"

Lothos didn't finish her sentence as it suddenly got loud in the room. But the one who she had expected to be the loudest was sitting there, staring at her with wide eyes.

A loud whistle quieted them down again. Sieghart nodded, and waited for the blonde Knight to continue.

"The one who fought Duel seemed to have been heavily wounded, but, no one could find the one. This is just an assumption, but after the letter that Dio showed me I am fairly sure that it was Zero. Zero quit because he knew you would want to help him, he protected your lives. Alright. Get out of my office now."

It took a moment for the words to sink in. Ronan remained inside the office, along with Dio who sat there as if paralyzed.

"Bruning Canyon, move your butt out of here!" Lothos yelled, but Dio didn't move. He was shaking, but not taking his eyes off the desk he had been staring at for the last five minutes.

"Dio… I lost a lot of close comrades, If you need someone to talk, I will be there to listen."

"…what do you know… stupid knight." Dios voice was quiet, barely audible.

"There is still a possibility that Zero will return."

"…you have no idea how demons fight…" With that Dio stood, needed a moment to find his balance, then slowly left the office.

Ronan sighed deeply. And the day had started so cheerfully…


	20. December 20th

**My Stories belong to me! Do NOT Copy them!**

**Disclaimer: **All characters used in here belong to KoG. I just play around with them.

This feeling was worse than the one he had when Zero had left. This was waiting for someone that was most likely dead already. _Heavily wounded_… There was a limit to the damage that a Demon could take. And, even when Zero was stronger, he had weak spots. Grandark covered most of them, but there were a few only Dio knew about. Duel would probably not find those spots, but anything was possible in fights like this. Angrily he smashed his fist into the wall, was surprised that the pain felt different, then he looked down. Lass had blocked his fist and Arme was ducking away. Blinking Dio took his hand down and sighed deeply.

"Sorry…."

Lass let go of the fist and stared at Dio as if he turned into a ghost. Arme had a similar expression on her face.

"What?" Dio asked, not quite getting what was wrong now.

"You apologized." Lass muttered.

Dio frowned. "Oh… I guess…" a bitter laugh escaped him. "Even I can change?"

Arme shoved Lass aside and put a hand on Dio's arm, then she just hugged him. Lass seemed annoyed, but he knew Arme didn't love Dio in that way. She liked him a little too much, but she didn't love him at all. Dio's reaction was surprising though. He crouched down and moved his arms around the mage, then buried his head in her shoulder. Now Lass noticed that Dio was shaking. At least that was something Lass knew. The fear of losing someone. They all had lost close people at some point. It wasn't easy to deal with this, but one would get over it. Lass almost laughed. He knew that if one of his best friends would suddenly disappear, he'd go insane.

"It's okay… I'm sure he'll come back." Lass heard Arme mutter.

"Demons fight to the bitter end… It's over when one of them dies… the winner is usually serverly hurt as well… did you ever watch me and Sieghart fight? It's almost the same."

"But… Sieghart doesn't take it serious…"

"If he would he would have killed me thousands of times already."

Lass sighed. This was getting too emotional for him. Dealing with the crybabies of the chase… Ronan was enough. Silently he left, leaving the Mage and the demon behind.

Arme didn't notice that the assassin left as she placed a kiss on Dio's hair.

"You know… It might seem like nothing will ever change, but there is always hope. And as long as no one can be absolutely sure that he died, you can always hope for him to come back."

Dio shook his head. Why was a human being telling him this? Why was he so stupid and didn't think about it himself?

"Alright… you could let go now… they'll get the wrong idea when they see this."

Immediately Dio let go and laughed nervously as he was hiding his face.

"I know you're a crybaby. Don't even try to hide it. Sometimes you're worse than Ronan."

"What?!"

The mage grinned. "But he holds the record."


	21. December 21st

**My Stories belong to me! Do NOT Copy them!**

**Disclaimer: **All characters used in here belong to KoG. I just play around with them.

Arme had been surprised that she got almost all chasers to join the snowball fight. Sieghart was still angry at them, but he found this a great opportunity to get his revenge. Right now he was firing a snowball in Armes direction, but Lass blocked it for her and she shot an iceball at the gladiator.

"Hey! I said no skills!" the immortal complained but Arme just shrugged.

Grumbling the highlander turned and threw a snowball at Dio. The demon ducked away and blocked a second, then he laughed eerily. But the snowball he wanted to throw crumbled to the ground when Dio was suddenly staring past Sieghart and seemed shocked. Sieghart frowned and turned, and was surprised at what he saw.

A person with a dirty cloak that covered head and shoulders was limping towards the castle. It seemed to be a male person. He was using his sword to hold his balance. Something was familiar about him. The person seemed to be wounded, but the highlander couldn't think more about it as Dio suddenly dashed past him, almost throwing him to the ground.

"Zero!"

At the sound of this name everyone stopped playing and stared at the scene in front of them.

Dio stopped a few steps next to the demon that didn't seem to take notice of anyone around here. He kept muttering things.

"Zero… what…."

"_Keep walking…. keep walking…"_

Dio jumped in front of him, but Zero just moved around the taller demon. The mask was cracked, seemed as if it would fall off any second. Blood covered most of his face and armor.

"Zero!" Dio yelled again, this time putting his hands on the smaller demons shoulders.

Zero looked up, cringed and let go of his sword. As it clattered to the ground Zero's legs gave in. Dio could barely hear his name as the Seeker collapsed and lost consciousness.

Dio picked the demon up, not caring about the sword that was quiet for some reason. Maybe it had finally died. As he walked toward the castle Amy, Arme, Ryan and Lime already dashed to the doors and opened them. Dio noticed that Zero was shaking, his breath shallow and even while unconscious he kept muttering things.

"_Giving up is not an option…. Keep walking…"_

Dio could only guess how long Zero had been walking like this. It hurt him to think about it. He could have helped him. He could-

"Dio… go to the infirmary, I get my books." Arme said, storming upstairs.

Dio would have done that without anyone telling him. Lime had opened the double doors to the infirmary and the demon stepped in.

Dio didn't want to let go of the demon, but he had to. No one knew how bad the demon was injured. Some wounds might have healed already but Dio wasn't too sure about this. Carefully he placed the demon on one of the beds and was almost thankful that Arme put a cup of tea in his hand.

"Sit down there, drink the tea, and no matter what happens, don't say a word." The mage ordered. She knew there was no way to get Dio out of this room now.

Dio watched them as the hours passed. He had put the cup on a table next to him and was now about to fall asleep. Not because he wanted to, but the last ten days where so exhausting and now his body demanded sleep. Zero was back… it seemed like one of the dreams he had had in the last days. That Zero was actually fine and had never left…. What a funny dream.

Eventually he fell asleep and was woken what felt like ten minutes later. Arme was looking at him, biting her lip as she continued to move the blanket around him.

"I didn't mean to wake you..." she whispered. She seemed tired. Her eyes concerned…

"Sleep." She ordered.

Dio was too tired to argue and just put his head back down on the table.

Arme sighed deeply as she pulled the blanket over the demons shoulders and took the cup away. Lime and Amy proceeded in healing Zero. But Arme was still worried. This was the second time this year. And this time it was worse. Not that he was injured as bad as the last time… but he seemed so far away that it was impossible to reach him. He didn't move, never shifted. Not even a moan of pain or anything. Completely unlike the last time. Shaking her head Arme turned around and sat down with her books on the ground. She didn't have much information about demons in her books. Most of it where fairy tales, things that weren't true.

Biting her lips again she stood and silently left the infirmary. Outside she rushed upstairs to Zero's room. Zero had showed her how to read his book. She was a fast learner.

Ten minutes later she knew that Zero like to read stories about wars. But not one of the books told her anything about demons. Shaking her head she rushed back down. The voices down there were loud, panicking… Arme forgot everything she was thinking and stormed back into the infirmary.

"What are we supposed to do?!" Amy yelled just when Arme had opened the doors.

"What happened?"

"Uh… Lime collapsed."

Arme sighed deeply, relieved that it was just something minor.

"Stupid girl, move her to a bed, I continue healing Zero."

What was Amy thinking making her panic like that? Arme placed her hands on Zero's chest as she sat down. While she was healing him she looked at Dio. The demon was sleeping like a stone. He seemed like he needed it. They all had been down for a while, but not as bad as Dio.

And Zero…. Arme still couldn't say what it was, but it felt so weird to heal him. It was like healing an empty shell and it made her shiver.


	22. December 22nd

**My Stories belong to me! Do NOT Copy them!**

**Disclaimer: **All characters used in here belong to KoG. I just play around with them.

Dio lifted his head when Arme shook his shoulder. he noticed that it was dark outside. Only candles lit the room.

"You might want to sleep in a more comfortable position."

"…How is he…?" Dio asked. He was still drowsy.

Arme smiled. "He'll be fine. He was awake for a second, but not long enough to talk."

The sigh Dio heaved surprised Arme. The magenta colored eyes suddenly lit up and sparkled like they usually did. Then Dio put his Arms around the mage and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you…" he whispered. It was the most sincere _thank you_, that Arme had ever heard. Especially from someone like Dio.

"Ugh…You're killing me…." Arme muttered as she tried to break the strong grip.

Slowly Dio let go. Arme was a little shocked that the demon could act like this. But he seemed to need it. A hug was able to get rid of a lot of bad feelings.

"Do you want tea?..."

"…Stop trying to kill that awful taste with honey… I'll get fat."

"But you like it." The mage laughed.

"Can't help it… stupid bitch."

Armes face lit up despite the insult. Dio was getting back to his normal self. Grinning she dashed out of the room after making sure Amy was awake and watching Zero.

Dio stared at Zero. If he took a few steps he could have touched him. Amy was sitting on a chair, her legs pulled up to her chin as she was playing with a necklace. On the other side of the room was Lime. She seemed to sleep.

"Lime used too much of her power at once. She'll be fine." Amy explained.

Dio didn't really care but somehow he was relieved. Unbelievable that he had gotten so attached to everyone. Even to the newbie. The girl was too similar to Arme to hate her. Arme had her moments, but all in all she was the only one not really making fun of the demons. And on top of that the mage always knew what to do when something was wrong.

"Foolish girl." Dio muttered, then stood and walked over to Zero's side. The girls healed him completely this time. But Arme had explained that it usually took a few hours until the mind recovered enough to realize that the pain was gone. And Zero seemed to be really exhausted anyway. The way he had muttered those words was more than disturbing.

"I… need to do some girl things… I'll wake Lime…" Amy muttered.

"Hell if you need to pee just say it." Dio rolled his eyes. Even if sleep was the only thing he really needed, he know that other body functions could be really annoying. Not that he needed to use them a lot… He watched as Amy blushed and knocked the chair over she had been sitting on as she stood. The girl stumbled over the chair, falling to the ground like a stone. Zero's ears twitched at the loud sound and Dio quickly sat down next to him, ready to do whatever the demon wanted when he opened his eyes.

A few minutes passed and nothing happened. Other than Lime who was now occupying Amy's chair, no one was moving. That was until the doors to the infirmary opened again. Voices could be heard.

"Arme! Holy hell let go!" Ronan.

"But… it looks so tasty!"

"It's not for you!"

Arme was carrying a plate with a cake into the room, Ronan followed her, but couldn't get close to her as he was trying not to destroy the cake. The girl was grinning when she put the cake on a table.

"Stop it now! The cake was for everyone and it's not finished yet!"

Dio glared at Ronan was he saw that Zero's ears kept twitching at the sounds. It would have been nice for those eyes to open, but they shouldn't force it.

"Shut the hell up!" Dio hissed. "Go fight somewhere else! I'm sick of this!"

Ronan ducked away as if he excepted and attack, but Dio turned around and just took Zero's hand in his. The leviathan barely noticed that Ronan stormed out of the room. Without his cake.

"You shouldn't have yelled at him…" Arme scolded.

"You're fucking annoying! Do you want to wake him?!"

"Dio… calm down. I know you're upset… but it's not our fault."

Dio turned away and placed his head on the edge of the bed Zero was lying in.

A second later Arme put the blanket back over his shoulders. "You should try to get some rest… "

"I'm not leaving."

"I know…" Arme muttered and moved a chair next to Lime. As she sat down she put a hand on Zero's arm.

"I'll wake him up. He has been sleeping long enough."

Dio frowned as he watched a soft light on Armes hand. A moment later zero's eyes opened suddenly and he gasped as if waking from a nightmare. He needed a second to calm down again. The golden eyes stared at the ceiling before they focused. The hand Dio had been holding slowly moved around Dio's fingers.

"…Duel… he got away… he used a trick…." Zero whispered. Dio was barely able to hear it. But that was the least Dio cared about. The leviathan stood, hovering over Zero's face.

"Why did you do this….! Why the hell did you leave me without saying a fucking word! I could have helped you!" Dio yelled, tears glistening in his eyes.

"…I was afraid you…. Would get hurt…"

A suppressed sob escaped the taller demon. "The way you left…. H-hurt way more… than a-any injury…."

Zero slowly lifted his Arms and moved them around the other demon's neck, pulling him down. Dio couldn't hold back his tears anymore.

"Dio!" Arme was about to jump to her feet but Zero shifted and sat up, faintly noting that he was undressed.

Arme watched the two demons for a while. She didn't notice that she had started to cry as well. This was too much. Even for her. Love was a weird thing, especially when it was like this.

"We should leave them alone… let's get some clothing for Zero…" Lime muttered, suddenly having the urge to hug someone. Preferably Rufus. The demon was probably still angry at her, but she didn't care.


	23. December 23rd

**My Stories belong to me! Do NOT Copy them!**

**Disclaimer: **All characters used in here belong to KoG. I just play around with them.

Knight Master sighed deeply when Zero entered her office. She put the letters aside and glared at the demon.

"Before you say a word I have to say something to you." She said, her voice cold.

Zero nodded and waited. He knew she wouldn't let him go with just an explanation.

"I heard that you fought a demon. However that demon was not Duel but an imposter. Am I right?"

"That is correct." Zero was getting nervous. Would she suspend him? Or worse, kick him out?

Lothos knew Zero usually spoke the truth and he was honest in absolutely everything he said. That was certainly a bonus. But there was a punishment waiting. He couldn't just leave and come back whenever he wanted.

"You tricked us, ran away and then came back as if nothing happened. The contract clearly states that once resigned you cannot come back."

"I am aware."

Lothos felt anger flare up inside her. Zero's face was not showing any emotion, as always. He seemed to be totally fine with being scolded.

"This rule applies to everyone here, and there are no exceptions."

Zero nodded. He knew this would be happening. She would kick him out. It was her right. He endangered his own life and it had been in vain. Gran had warned him about it… and he didn't listen. What would Oz say? He probably knew it already. Zero could hear the old man laughing at him for his stupidity. Then he would yell and scold him, reminding him to never take risks.

"However," Lothos continued. "If this had been the real Duel you would have saved us all. You might even did, who knows what this imposter was good for. You almost died and everyone here had lost hope to ever see you again. You scared us quite a bit. Especially Dio. He was so down, we thought he'd kill himself."

Zero suddenly stared at the floor. "I apologize. I thought it was the right decision. I did not think I would return."

Lothos sighed. "I can't let you off the hook that easy though."

Zero nodded again. "I will not argue with your judgment."

Knight Master sighed. He was giving up way to fast. "You know that you wouldn't see Dio again when I kick you out?"

"Yes. I know."

"Are you okay with that?"

Zero was silent for a moment. No. He was not okay with it. But was that the right thing to say? Was it alright to be selfish like this? He knew that Dio would cry again…

"No." Zero answered.

Knight Master nodded. "Good. But I can't let you off the hook this easy."

"I understand."

Lothos smiled at him. "I'll send you and Dio on a mission. You two have to get a Christmas tree. Call it a punishment."

Zero's eyes seemed to change for a second. In that moment they actually looked human and not like the eyes of a dead person.

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Alright, alright. You can leave now. And watch out for Elesis. She said something about killing you."

"I will."

As Zero closed the door he felt relieved. He wouldn't have thought that the woman would let him stay.


	24. December 24th

**My Stories belong to me! Do NOT Copy them!**

**Disclaimer: **All characters used in here belong to KoG. I just play around with them.

Alright. Since we celebrate Christmas on the 24th where I live, this will be the actual Christmas-story.

This really was fun. I never thought I'd actually manage to write one story a day. And I really had no plot at all for all this. Most of those stories were written only hours before midnight.

Thank you for all the reviews and merry Christmas ^-^

**!WARNING!**

**This story contains boys-love with a hint of yaoi! **

The silver haired demon was currently trying to get the tree into the stand without brute force. It was impossible. Sighing he stood and kicked the stand, then the tree finally went in. He wondered why Dio was chuckling, but a second later he understood what Dio was associating the tree with. While they were getting the tree Dio was constantly complaining that he wanted to do something else with the Seeker. Zero also wanted to have some time alone with Dio, but a mission was a mission.

However, now that they were back in the castle Dio seemed to have more and more trouble holding back. The taller demon grabbed the tree at the tip and pulled it over so that it would stand again, then he cursed as the needles stung into his hand. Zero was looking at the tree for a second, then took a step to the side to stand closer to Dio. He placed a hand on the Leviathans back and slowly let it slide towards the rear of the Demon.

"…Oh. Now you want something?" Dio smirked.

"We should move to your room."

"Yours is better… they wouldn't barge in without knocking first."

"You do not mind to be looked at in this situation."

"But you do. And I don't want you to stop in the middle of it again." Dio grinned, taking Zero's hand and slowly pulled him upstairs.

"Gran is still in my room." Zero muttered, but for now he didn't really care anymore as Dio was slowly pushing him against the wall just outside Zero's room. His hot breath made him shiver, and he was thinking about letting Dio take control this time. Dio slowly kissed the neck of the Seeker, moving his hand under his shirt and slowly lifted it. Zero moved his arms around Dio's neck and kissed the demon, slowly took a few step backwards, leading Dio into his room. Once they entered the room Dio broke the kiss to shut the door with his foot, then pushed Zero back against the door. Zero opened the buttons of Dio's shirt while the taller demon didn't even bother with the buttons of Zeros shirt as he ripped them off.

Zero didn't really think about the buttons when he moved on to Dio's pants. Dio captured the lips of the smaller demon again, then kissed his chin, neck, collarbone and his chest. He had missed this so much. There was a silent moan when Dio opened the belt of Zero's pants and slid his hand in.

"Do you want to do it this time?" Zero whispered, smiling at the other demon.

Dio looked up, frowned.

"Do you want to be the top this time?" Zero asked again.

Dio blinked, not quite understanding.

"Would you want to?..."

Zero reached towards Dios face and gently stroke the long ears. "This is my gift for you. For making you worry, for saying what I said. I would not ask if I would not be absolutely sure that I want this."

Dio nodded, then grabbed Zero around the waist and lifted him up to put him on the bed.

"You'll enjoy it." Dio grinned, letting himself sinking into the golden eyes of his lover for a moment then slowly proceeded in removing the Seeker's pants.

Rufus was glaring at his door, begging he was just imagining what he was hearing. But the red face of Lime when she entered his room made him realize that it was true.

"A-are they….?"

"What does it sound like?"

"Oh holy…. And they…. How do they? They are both male….My goodness!"

Rufus almost laughed as Lime realized how those two were able to do those things.

"Let them be… It's not nice to listen to this, but it's actually better than Dio's ranting."

Lime nodded, still disturbed about what she just learned.

"We decorated the tree. They want everyone to come down… But I don't want to bother those two…"

"They will notice soon enough."

Lime nodded again, then slowly took Rufus by the hand and stared at him. Her blue eyes seemed to sparkle and her red cheeks made her seem even more pretty than she already was. Slowly they went downstairs, gathering around the tree with the others. Still, Lime didn't let go of Rufus' hand and the demon was strangely fine with it.

Knight Master greeted them all, gave a sort speech, then looked around.

"Where are Dio and Zero?"

An annoyed groan came from the chasers and Lothos suddenly blushed. "…of course." She laughed nervously.

"Then let's start without them."

Rufus wondered what this was about as Lothos managed to give every chaser a present. He didn't really want to open it, there didn't seem anything interesting in it. But there was something else he wanted to do. He tugged at Lime's sleeve and pulled a small package out of his pocket.

"I'm not sure of you like this… Lass said girls like things like this…"

Lime frowned and took the package, then carefully opened it. It was a silver necklace with a small heart on it. When she looked closer she could read that something was engraved in it.

'_I love you'_

Lime gaped and blushed, then bit her lip. "Rufus… a-are you serious?"

He nodded. nervously looking around as he moved his head down to the young Knight and placed a small kiss on her lips.

"…you just stole my first kiss." Lime muttered, suddenly glaring at him.

He smiled. She would have expected him to get defensive, but he didn't. "That was also my first… I guess we're even."

Then they noticed that it had gotten quiet. Everyone was staring at them. Rufus blushed, grabbed Limes arm and stormed into his room. He should have waited longer!


End file.
